City University was founded on the 15th of November, 1990 by Presidential Decree No. 720. The University is administered by “Al-Manar Society”, a non-profit Islamic charitable organization, founded in 1958 to establish learning institutions that serve students and businesses from Tripoli and the North in particular, to Lebanon and the Arab World in general. In 2017, a new presidential decree no. 1908 was issued to reflect the university new educational identity, replacing its name from Al-Manar University of Tripoli to City Unversity.

Since its establishment by the late Prime Minister Mr. Rashid Karami, the Association has received a number of financial and real estate contributions including a 255,000 m2 lot of land in the Zeytoun region of Tripoli.

After the assassination of the late Prime Minister Rashid Karami, H.E. Mr. Omar Karami assumed the chairmanship of the Society. He formed the Founders Committee, with a charge of creating the statute of the Foundation and the by-laws of the university, as well as CITYU’s Board of Trustees which he chairs, incorporating as members; three former Lebanese Prime Ministers, number of dignitaries, businessmen and academicians.

As a result of these efforts, and by a special governmental Decree, the scattered areas of land owned by the Association were joined to secure one uniform lot of land designated for the university campus. Today, the overall area dedicated to the construction of the CITYU campus and its ancillaries stands at 150,561 m2. The university campus lies at the southern entrance of Tripoli, perched on a commanding hill overlooking the Mediterranean Sea and offering a spectacular view. In addition, the university’s Board of Trustees donated to the Islamic Charity Association & Indigent Relief a 15,000 m2 lot of land for the construction of a new building of the Islamic College of Education & Learning to encourage its students to join CITYU upon their graduation.

The university’s by-laws target the number of students attending CITYU during its first stage at 3000 students, spread out over the various Faculties and Institutes. Its licensing decree stipulates that all students attending City University must hold the Lebanese Baccalaureate, Part II Certificate, or its equivalent as a prerequisite for admission.